The present invention relates generally to initiating telephone calls and more particularly to using the Internet to initiate a telephone call.
Traditionally, the telephone has been the fastest and most convenient means of communicating information from one destination to another. A user can simply pick up the telephone, dial a telephone number, and connect to a particular individual. With the increasing use of personal computers, many users are now utilizing their telephones in conjunction with their personal computers to further enhance the speed, convenience, and functionality that telephones already provide. Accordingly, there are many computer systems that contain software programs to initiate a telephone call from a personal computer. For example, one software program allows a user to access a Rolodex directory of names from a personal computer to select and place a telephone call to a particular entity. The personal computer software initiates the telephone call when the user clicks on a phone number to call. Once the telephone begins dialing, the user must pick up the telephone to speak to the entity called.
The Internet provides users with another means of communicating information, ideas, and messages. The Internet is a global network which allows users to access information through the use of a Web browser. The Web browser accesses a particular Web server through the Internet link.
By connecting to the Internet, the user can then retrieve a multitude of Web sites. A Web site is a series of screen displays (Web pages) consisting of text, pictorial, and other information about a particular subject, organization, or company. A particular Web site can be retrieved from the Internet by specifying its Web site address to the Web browser.
It has been recognized that sound, and thus telephone calls, can be encoded and transmitted over the Internet, and hardware and software have been developed for this. The user maintains a direct connection to the called party through the Internet link without ever using a telephone line. One disadvantage of the direct connection through the Internet is that there may a time delay in voice transmission and the voice sometimes becomes distorted and unclear.
Whatever method is used for placing calls, the telephone number often may be first found in a phone directory. More recently, a user can access a Web site having an Internet directory, such as the Zip2 Web site, to view different businesses.